L’allaitement maternel du veau laitier

Summary

In current dairy farming systems, calves are usually separated from their mothers in the first hours after birth. This questions more and more consumers and producers in terms of wellbeing and respect for the natural behavior of animals. In this sense, alternative practices established by some breeders allow calves to suckle their mother or nannies. This study focuses on the diversity of suckling practices in France, the motivations of breeders to choose them and their impact on the health, performance and well-being of cows and calves. One hundred and two surveys carried out among farmers in the main French dairy basins concerned by these practices led to the creation of a database. The results highlight three main suckling practices: feed by mother only, feed by mother then by nannies and by mother then artificial feeding. They often differ within the same farm (n = 62) between calves for sale and renewal heifers. The main motivations for farmers to implement these practices are: improved animal health (n = 52), shorter working hours (n = 47) and rearing costs (n = 32). In parallel, trials were carried out on experimental farms in order to refine the development of a system that allows maintaining mother-calf contact until weaning without deteriorating cow milk performance and future heifers’ growth. The results show that suckling system has a major influence on milk in terms of quantity and composition. The ADG of suckling calves is higher before weaning and their post-weaning fall is greater. Weaning affects mothers more than calves compared to maternal weaning at calving, from the behavioral point of view. Suckling in dairy farming is a theme that requires further research.